64th Gent-Wevelgem - 1.HC

Belgium, April 10, 2002

Tuscan encore

It's been nine years since Mario Cipollini last won Gent-Wevelgem in 1993,
but he showed today that he has lost none of his power and finesse, as he took
his third victory in this event in an utterly convincing fashion. Cipollini
is a good bet in any kind of sprint, but today he was matched against just four
other riders, beating home Americans Fred Rodriguez (Domo) and George Hincapie
(USPS) in a straightforward sprint.

There were no zebra-striped teammates to lead him out, no-one to nurse him
over the climbs. Today the win belonged solely to him, and how. "I wanted to
do something special and show that I can do more than just sprinting. I am no
superman, but after my win in Sanremo, I knew there was still more."

After making the first selection of 21 riders, which included Hincapie, Museeuw,
Zabel, McEwen, Rodriguez and Hunter, Cipollini bided his time. He made it twice
over the Kemmelberg as the lead group splintered, with Hendrik Van Dijck (Collstrop),
Fred Rodriguez (Domo), George Hincapie (USPS) and Martin Hvastija (Alessio)
going off the front over the climb. Cipollini waited until after the descent,
before powering across the 10 second gap to the leading four. It was very impressive
riding from the Lion King, who had clearly decided to win today.

Hincapie's teammate Tom Boonen commented on the move to Belgian TV afterwards:
"The counter-attack by Cipollini was a big surprise. George was certainly the
strongest on the Kemmel, with even Museeuw having to move over. But Cipollini
went from the last position to ride across to the front group. From that moment
I knew that they would stay away."

Behind him, Hunter and others tried and failed to get across, the strong headwind
making life very difficult. The gap went from 10 seconds to 50 as the Domo boys
stopped chasing behind, and it became a race of five men. Cipollini was trading
turns with all the others, and they kept their advantage over the last 30 km
into Wevelgem.

The attacks started with around 8 kilometres to go, with all riders - save
for Cipollini - trying to escape. No dice, as there was always someone to close
the gap, and Cipollini kept himself out of trouble. The slowest sprinters in
the group, Hvastija and Van Dijk, led the way with 1 km to go, with Van Dijk
deciding to go for a long sprint.

"I thought I could start early and then when someone came over me, I could
get on their wheel," said Van Dijk. "It was a pity that Cipollini
closed it up after the Kemmelberg. It would have been a more open race then."

Van Dijk faded to fourth as Cipollini had no problem in coming off his wheel
to win by over a bike length from Rodriguez and Hincapie. Re Leone strikes again!

Rodriguez was good today, but had no answer to Cipollini's sprint. "I was too
nervous and began a bit too quickly," he said. "Unfortunately that was a missed
chance that I had to beat Cipollini. He was also tired after the race. What
wasn't possible in Milan-San Remo could have happened now. But there will be
more chances."

As for Hincapie, he too had no answer. "I was criticised after the Tour
of Flanders for not attacking. This time, I went several times, and at the right
moment. But with Cipollini in the group, I couldn't do anything about it. He
was too strong."

With this win, Cipollini has once again answered any critics. It's a pity
he won't ride on Sunday but he has set his objectives differently this year.
He said in the post race interview that his targets were Milan-San Remo and
the World's, and that he would be riding the Vuelta (as well as the Giro). This
suggests that the Tour de France is not on his program, even if the organisers
do give his team an invitation.